“Russia destroyed our homes, destroyed our children and forced us to flee (…) Today, it wants to close the Bab al-Hawa border crossing,” 45-year-old Fatim told AFP
“We will die”, “this is a disaster”, a “policy of hunger”. Displaced in areas controlled by jihadists and insurgents in the northwest Syria they attacked today Russia after his veto at the UN threatens the delivery of critical humanitarian aid.
On Friday, Russia, an ally and military supporter of his regime Bashar al-Assadvetoed in the UN Security Council a proposal submitted by Norway and Ireland that would have extended for a year the transfer of humanitarian aid to Syria through a border crossing, without the agreement of Damascus.
Moscow had counter-proposed a shorter extension of six months.
This program ends on Sunday. It had been in force since 2014 and provided for the transfer of humanitarian aid from the Bab al-Hawa border crossing on the Syria-Turkey border to more than 2.4 million people living in Idlib province, which is controlled by jihadist groups and rebels.
13 of the 15 Security Council countries voted in favor of the extension. THE Chinawho often followed Russia’s lead, this time preferred abstention.
The 10 non-permanent members of the Security Council are expected to recommend a nine-month extension to end the deadlock, diplomats said.
“The plan defied the sovereignty of Damascus,” explained Russia’s deputy ambassador to the UN Dmitry Polyanskydenouncing the “intransigence” of Western countries and recalling that Moscow had tabled its own proposal for a six-month extension.
“Russia destroyed our homes, destroyed our children and forced us to flee (…) Today, it wants to close the Bab al-Hawa border crossing,” 45-year-old Fatim, who lives in a camp, told AFP displaced in the northern part of Idlib province.
“If the Bab al-Hawa crossing is closed (…) we will die,” said the outraged mother of 14.
“Famine”
More than 4,600 humanitarian aid trucks carrying mostly food have passed through the Bab al-Hawa crossing this year, according to the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).
On Saturday, the crossing was closed due to the Muslim holiday of Eid al-Adha, according to an AFP correspondent.
“They know very well that most of the residents of the (displaced) camps depend on this aid,” Abdel Salam Youssef said indignantly. The Russian veto is “a disaster,” he added.
Idlib province, the last stronghold of jihadists and rebels in war-torn Syria, is home to the majority of displaced people living in poverty.
The Russian veto embodies “the policy of siege and starvation that Russia is resorting to in Syria,” Mazen Alouche, who is in charge of the Bab al-Hawa crossing, told Agence France-Presse.
“Contempt for human life”
Not renewing the mandate will be a “prelude to an uncontrollable famine and will directly threaten the food security of more than four million people,” Aluse added.
The cross-border aid system includes medical aid which is considered a matter of life and death in the region’s health sector, which has been devastated after 11 years of war.
Not renewing it “will lead to a complete collapse of the health sector,” warned Salem Abdane, director of Idlib’s health sector.
This will lead to “the closure of 21 hospitals, 12 medical centers and put an end to many plans, including vaccination campaigns,” he added, warning of “an increase in the death rate and disease.”
In recent years, Moscow has repeatedly used its right of veto at the UN on resolutions concerning Syria. Yesterday’s was the 17th veto he has exercised since the war in that country began in 2011. For several weeks, dozens of non-governmental organizations and many UN officials have been urging SA member countries to approve the transfer of humanitarian aid for one year.
“Russia’s cynical veto (…) shows that the Russian leadership’s disregard for human life may be at an all-time high,” Human Rights Watch said.
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